Of Fallen Stars and Broken Dreams
by AlenaChen
Summary: One Piece One-Shot collection. They are mostly really short. Feel free to send requests. Set to complete, but will update with new One-Shots once in a while. Random pairings/No pairings indicated within the OS itself, same goes for rating.
1. Sunset - Memories of You (Marco)

**It's the day before Ace's execution and Marco is dwelling on his own thoughts. Very short experimental OS. No pairings.**

**Rated: K**

Such an old, short OS. I wrote it in German in 2012, I think? I wrote a lot of Marco/Ace Oneshots and I really just want to bring them over to this site, translated to English, of course. So please enjoy, there'll be more :).

* * *

**Sunset - **_Memories of you_

_Ace. The sunset reminds me of you. The blazing red is of the same color as your burning flames. Lively, pulsating. I miss the warmth of your fire.  
This place is so bleak without you. Everyone is feeling down, even if no one wants to admit it. But all the laughter sounds so hollow._

Just like dark clouds the thoughts were covering up his mind. He was sitting on board of the Moby Dick with outstretched legs, his hands folded behind the bald back of his head as his glance was wistfully directed at the sky above him. The expression on his face was painful.

_Ace. The sunset is cruel. I can see your face in the clouds. Are you smiling? It is as if I could grab you, if only I would stretch out my hand towards you. But the chance for that is long over. The illusions fade._

A moment later there is a hand on his shoulder, squeezing in a reassuring gesture. „We'll get him back." He hears the voice from far away.

_Ace. We have learned that you have been captured.  
No one hesitated.  
Everyone wants to save you. Your place is here among us. No one can take that from you. No one._

He gets up slowly, gives the man behind himself a weak smile. „Yes. I know." Deceitful. The doubts are frightening.

_Ace. The sunbeams shine through the clouds like flames. Is it a sign? Are you calling for us?  
If so, then what if we cannot make it? What if we will only disappoint you?_

He walks over to their captain, their father. The old man is sitting at his usual place. Carefully watching the approach of his son with alert eyes. „Marco, sit down."

And he does as he is told.

_Ace. Pops says that he does not have long to live anymore. He is going to die. He does not say it in front of the others, but I know. He wants to sacrifice himself. For you. For us. For his family._

„Tomorrow's the day." The glance of the old man is directed at some unknown point in the distance. His eyes without any distinctive expression.

„We'll get him back." The first division commander repeats the words of his friend from earlier. Like a spell. A spell for certainty.

A spell for strength.

_Ace. It is our decision. We have decided in your favor. Since you have been part of this family there have never been doubts about it. We have made a decision, so please wait for us. Only for a little while longer.  
We will surely save you._

„Of course, son." The huge hand of the old man pats his back reassuringly.

He directs his glance at the sky once more. The sun is nearly gone by now.

_Ace. When the sun sets it looks like it is being swallowed by darkness.  
Fire.  
Darkness._

„Please be alive..."


	2. Chemistry (MihawkShanks)

For 'share-the-love-month' on tumblr Day six: MihawkShanks.  
The theme was 'the elements', it's in there. Somehow. Just look very, very closely? Closer, please. It's there somewhere OTL. The connection is just very thin! Let's just say chemistry.. elements... oh shut up. I don't care anymore :c

* * *

**Chemistry**

Mihawk was not even able to as much as touch the doorbell in front of him as the door belonging to it was suddenly opened slowly.

He raised an eyebrow as he retracted his hand and was almost instantly forced to look into the brown eyes of a young woman.

She blushed and took a step back as she noticed the man in front of her. Tilting her head back she said something into the room behind her. "I-I'm going now. You have another visitor though."

With that and a muttered "excuse me" she scurried past Mihawk, clearly showing that the situation was unpleasant to her and that she did not want to have anything further to do with it.

Mihawk only slightly shook his head as his lips escaped a silent sight. "I'm coming in." He said as he entered the house and closed the door behind him.

He stood there, uncertain of what to do for a moment. "Shanks...?" He cautiously asked into the silence of the home he had just invaded.

The red-head popped up almost instantly from behind the door that connected to the living room.

"Oh, it's just you, Mihawk!" He said with a wide grin on his face.

Mihawk stopped himself from asking who else he could have been, it was better not to ask anyway. But something else he could not stop himself from asking. "Who was that just now?" He said slowly.

Shanks had approached him slowly by now. "A student of mine." He shrugged.

Mihawk narrowed his eyes slightly. "What was she doing here?"

Shanks shrugged again. "Asking me to not fail her on that last test?"

"How old was she, Shanks? Is it okay to do that with your students?" Mihawk asked, fully aware of the nature of the person in front of him. He could easily imaging what such a 'request' could have led to.

Shanks arms were around his neck in an instant, pulling him down, forcing his lips onto his, kissing him passionately. Mihawk closed his eyes and let it happen. Anger, or was it jealousy? Had built up inside of him without him really noticing, but it quickly subsided at the others sudden action. His hands found their way to Shanks hips and he pulled him closer, pressing their bodies tightly together.

The kiss did not last for long before Shanks broke it again. "Are you jealous?" He asked mockingly.

Mihawks lips escaped a quiet 'tz' sound. "Of course not." He said, although he knew that somehow he was. Sharing was definitely not his style. And with a student no less. That was plainly disgraceful. But he would never admit so just right away. That was just how Shanks was like, he could not change that anyway.

So he simply asked: "Are you guilty though?"

Shanks shrugged his shoulders without letting go of the person in front of him. "Maybe." He said with a smirk. "Didn't know I couldn't have fun beside you now. Are you getting clingy, Mihawk?" The name rolled over his tongue in a mocking tone.

"No way." The other one said dryly. He knew they were not in a real relationship and that he really was not entitled to feeling jealous over this, but he could not help it.

"I just don't like sharing." He said, fingers roughly trailing Shanks lips before he kissed him again for a second and then pulled back again. "Especially not sharing you." His voice was husky and low as he forced the other one back, trapping him between himself and the wall behind them.

His hands came to rest at either side of Shanks head. He was done playing around, this was starting to get on his nerves. "So." He continued. "I'm just going to ask you one more time." He sighed. "What did you do to that girl?"

Shanks, however, just smirked at him again and shrugged his shoulders once more.

Mihawk removed his hands almost instantly, turning around in annoyance. "How were you even able to become a teacher in the first place? How could people completely miss your personality?" He questioned, by now he had become somewhat agitated.

"I'm just really talented when it comes to Chemistry, I guess?"

"You don't really have to be talented to become a teacher." Mihawk replied dryly.

The remark made Shanks pout. "It's not like just anyone can become one."

"Apparently yes." Mihawk continued. "Because they made _you_ one." He added with a smirk of his own as he turned back to Shanks.

"But seriously Shanks. I don't want to visit you in jail one of these days." He said, worry finding its way to his voice.

That was when the other one suddenly started laughing whole-heartedly. "Alright, I'm sorry." He brought out between laughter. "Really sorry.".

Mihawk raised an eyebrow at him, not fully understanding what was going on.

Once Shanks had calmed down a little, he finally explained. "She was just getting some papers for the test next week, because she had been sick."

"At this time of the day?" Mihawk asked suspiciously.

"Her parents were actually waiting in the car outside." Shanks smirked at the other one victoriously.

Mihawk sighed again. "You really are hopeless." He muttered.

"I may have hopelessly fallen for you, yes." Shanks said, his voice suddenly low and seductive.

Mihawk starred at him for a moment. Sometimes he wondered what the point in their relationship was, when the other one just plainly annoyed him like this most of the time.

But once his hands reached out to him, fingers entangling themselves in his fire-red hair, lips brushing together in a rough and demanding kiss that usually left him breathless once they parted, he knew again. This was all worth it. Shanks being his for at least a little while was all worth it. The chemistry between them simply worked out really well like that.


	3. A Once Dying Star (SmoLaw)

For the Share the Love Month on tumblr day eight: SmoLaw  
The theme is still The Elements. And hey, look, it's actually in there *grins like an idiot*.

I have to say, when I went through the list of this nice event I wanted to pick a pairing whose characters I was familiar enough with to be able to write about them without re-reading too many OP chapters, but also one I had never really much considered in terms of a pairing.  
Mind you, a few days before I had this really nice SmoLaw fanart on my tumblr dashboard so I immediately picked them. Conclusion? I think it's a nice pairing. I love the art (damn so hot), but I'll probably not really write about them again (voluntarily). Not because I dislike them as a pairing, but because for me it just doesn't seem to work out.

That being said I wrote a 4k words long OS about them, so that gotta count for something, right! I always feel that once an OS passes a certain mark it would have been better as a multi-chapter fic, because I tend to leave out a lot and compress the story and idk. But it's okay I suppose, because on the other hand with multi-chapter fics I tend to drag everything out a lot, which as the other extreme, is sometimes annoying as well I guess.

Well enough blabla. Enjoy the story. It's an AU, science fiction with (not many) aliens and a plot revolving around some elements-stuff.

* * *

**A Once Dying Star**

The bar was stinking of smoke, alcohol and the sweat of too many people crammed in a place that was way too small and way too poorly ventilated.

Well, Smoker had the habit of smoking two cigars at the same time at all times, himself, so he could not really complain about the smell of smoke. The rest, however, did bother him a little. This was not a location he would usually visit voluntarily, but since he had been told he could obtain the information he was looking for in here, he has had no other choice.

He sat down on one of the scarce free barstools and waved the bartender over. The man was all green and slimy, with purple, tentacle-like hair on top of his head, his hands and what could be called his feet looked pretty much the same. At least he fitted perfectly well into this sort of place.

"Hey." Smoker greeted him gruffly, eying the alien suspiciously. "I was told I could find out something about the _Elements_ in here." He said, his voice low in an attempt to keep their conversation from being heard by too many other people.

The aliens eyes widened in surprise as he took in the question he had just been asked. But just a moment later he started to laugh loudly. It took him a moment to calm down and, wiping away a tear from his eyes with one of his tentacle-arms, he finally caught his breath and replied: "Been some time since I've heard someone ask 'bout that. How old are you? You know _those_ _stories_ are just stories for _children_, right? Do you really believe they are _true_?" He laughed once more before he attempted to turn around to attend to a different customer.

Smoker however reached out quickly over the counter and grabbed the bartender by his collar and pulled him back.

He removed the cigars he had been smoking with his other free hand and growled at the alien dangerously. "_Listen_. They _are_ real."

The bartender lifted his tentacle-hands in defense and slightly shook his head. "Alright, whatever you want to believe. But I don't have any information for you, so please let go of me, unless you want to get into trouble. We don't tolerate violent behavior in here." He said with an apologetic smile on his lips that looked more fake than anything.

Smoker let go of him anyway and got up from his chair almost instantly. This place was a waste of time and picking a fight here would not help him either. So it really was better if he just left and tried his luck somewhere else.

* * *

Outside of the building he was just about to get the map out of his pocket to check where he should go next, when a voice coming from behind him interrupted him.

"Hey."

Smoker turned around and raised an eyebrow at the person that was standing there. The rather slim man had human features and short, black hair. He wore a plain, black coat and an odd, white fur hat with black spots on it. In his hand he held a big, sheathed sword.

He must have followed him from inside the bar, Smoker concluded.

"Who are you?" Smoker asked him cautiously, his hand grabbed the hilt of his jitte that was strapped to his back almost automatically.

"My name is Trafalgar Law." The man introduced himself. "I was sitting next to you in there." He said, pointing back to the bar with a wink of his sword. "I could hear what you said."

"So...?" Smoker looked at him questioningly. "Did you come out to make fun of me, as well?" The grip he had around his weapon intensified.

"No." The man said. "I came to talk to you, because I, too believe in those stories." There was a grin on his face as he spoke those words.

Smoker eyed him suspiciously, but after a moment he finally let go of his weapon and with a smile of his own said: "Alright. My name's Smoker. But we shouldn't talk here... my ship is close by though."

Law nodded and so they silently made their way to Smokers ship.

Smoker's ship was small and old, but neatly taken care of. Considering its age it did still look solid and good.

Once they were in the protection of the ship Smoker asked the other one: "How do you know about those stories?"

The man grinned. "A planet divided into four sections, each housing people that held the power of one of the four elements: fire, water, earth and wind. When they die they leave behind the core of their power: an orb containing the dense form of their element. If you collect one of each they'll fulfill you one of your wishes. Who has not heard of that story? It's a common story that is being told to children and it's well liked, because, who doesn't have wishes that seem unfulfillable?"

"That's how far the stories go. But they are just stories. Why do you believe in them?"

"Why do _you_ believe in them?" Law asked back sternly.

"Because I _want_ to believe in them. There's someone I need to bring back... she... did not deserve to die like that."

Law cast his glance down and on the ring finger of Smoker's right hand he spotted a simple golden ring. A wedding ring? So he was trying to bring back his dead wife? That was his wish?

"I'm going to help you." Law suddenly decided.

Smoker looked up, confused. "How?"

Law rummaged in his bag for a moment before retrieving a small box from it that had beautiful, golden ornaments on it.

He opened it slowly and Smoker had to get a little closer to see what was inside. But when he realized what the object was, his eyes widened. "Is that...?"

Inside the box lay a small, round object that was glowing brightly from fierce flames that seemed to be trapped inside of it.

Law smiled as he closed the box again and let it disappear in his bag again. "Yeah, a fire orb."

"You are just carrying something like that around in your bag? And you are showing it to me, a complete stranger? What if I stole it from you?"

The statement made Law laugh. "I doubt you could. And I'll help you get the three missing orbs, so I doubt it makes a difference if I showed you this one."

"I never really believed they were real, after searching for them for so long without ever finding one... how did you get it?"

"It belonged to a friend of mine. It was _his_. It was what he left behind when he died."

That took Smoker by surprise. "I'm sorry about that. I thought the people from that planet had all died a long time ago."

"Not all of them are dead. But there are only a few left and they live in hiding, because they are usually being hunted and killed for their orbs."

Smoker swallowed hard at the sudden prospect of finally being able to reach his goal. He could still not believe it. Why would this stranger decide to help him? Why would he show him the orb? Something was definitely fishy about this, but for now it might be the best idea to just go with this and try to make the best out of the situation.

"How are we going to find the rest?" He finally asked carefully.

"I know someone who has a water orb. She's on a planet not far from here." Law explained dryly.

"Are we just going to steal it from her?" Smoker did not like that idea. He wanted those orbs, of course, but he did not want to do anything that was unlawful.

"How else are we going to get it?" Law turned his head to look at the other man with eyes that seemed to pierce right through him.

"I don't know. Pay for it?" Smoker returned weakly.

The thought made Law laugh. Paying for something that was practically invaluable? No wonder this man had never found a single one of those orbs by himself. But he left it at that. They could discuss how to get it once they located it.

Law went over to the main control panel of the ship and with skillful fingers entered the coordinates of the planet they had to go to.

"I have a friend who liked to collect old ships." He explained when he caught Smokers confused look as to why he was so skillful with a ship that was not his own.

"I've learned a lot about different types from him." Law concluded his explanation with a grin.

* * *

"I still don't understand why you are helping me." Smoker admitted after the ship had started its flight in auto-pilot mode.

"I'm trying to find something." Law replied vaguely.

"But not the orbs?"

"No, the orbs can't help me with what I'm trying to find."

Smoker did not understand. Those orbs were able to fulfill any wish. So how could it be that they couldn't help him with what he was looking for? But he would probably just have to accept it like this now.

"Alright, tell me something about yourself." Law suddenly said. They did have some time before they would reach the planet after all. "Are you a space cop or something? I mean that was definitely a rare reaction to me suggesting to steal something. Usually people just go with it and ignore their consciousness."

Smoker could not help but wonder about the others wording. Did he do this often, talking to strangers and helping them with their business? Maybe he was going to lure him into some sort of trap and that fire orb was actually a fake. Maybe his informant had been into this as well and that was why he led him into that bar to meet Law?

"I actually used to be. But I retired some years ago."

"Why?" Law continued his questioning.

"Someone close to me died and I found myself unable to get out of the depression that followed."

"They person you want to bring back?"

"Yeah." Smoker admitted.

"And hearing the story about those orbs made you hopeful again?"

"That's how it was. And since then I've been searching to find out if it was true or not."

"I see." Law mused, his curiosity seemed to be sated by that for the moment as he did not ask any further questions.

* * *

It did not take them long to reach their target planet and leaving the ship Law led Smoker into a town close to the place where they had landed.

"Are you sure it's here?" Smoker asked him suspiciously after they had walked side-by-side for a little while.

"Completely sure. I've visited her a lot of times in the past." The other one replied without looking at him.

"Wait." Smoker said and at that Law turned around to look at him.

"What?" He asked with an annoyed tone to his voice.

"Is she a friend of yours? Are we going to steal from someone you know?" This situation really was weird. What the hell was going on here? What was this Law trying to achieve?

Law did not reply to that, only starred at Smoker for a second too long, but then turned around and pointed at one of the houses in front of them.

Inside the lights were turned on so they could easily see a woman with long, flowing blue hair inside that seemed to be preparing food or something. Except for the exotic hair color she looked pretty much human to him. Human and harmless.

"It's in there?" Smoker asked, excitement had found its way into his voice. He stretched out his arm and it almost instantly dissolved into smoke. "Let's get it." There was a grin on his face before more of his body started to dissolve.

But in just that moment he could suddenly feel Law's hard grip around his arm where it involuntarily turned back into his old, solid form.

"What's your problem?!" Smoker complained as he was dragged back into the direction they had just come from by Law.

"I thought you were human." The other one growled.

"My mother was, my father was." Smoker gave back. "What does that have to do with anything?! It would have made sneaking in easier."

They reached a deserted area of the town in no time.

"You can't just steal it from her, idiot." Law said, he was still agitated.

Smoker raised an eyebrow at the remark. "But that's what you said we should do."

"She's one of them!" Law suddenly burst out. His hand had found its way to the hilt of his sword and he unsheathed it in a second. "You would need to _kill_ her to get to your precious orb." He spat out. "Is that something you are willing to do? Of course you are. You are all the same anyway, hunting us to fulfill your own selfish wishes. It doesn't matter that you destroy other people's lives for that. What's a life worth as long as you get what you want after all, right?"

Smoker took a step back, his own hand had found its way to the jitte on his back. "_Us_?" He repeated what Law had just said. Was he one of them? Was that why he agreed to help him? To kill him for the murder of his people? Of course, it all made sense now. After all why else would he have one of the orbs and so willingly show it to him?

"I wasn't going to kill her." Smoker tried to calm the other one down.

"No?" Law laughed. "You were just going to walk away so close to your goal? Don't make me laugh! That was never going to happen. You people are all the same."

There was a dangerous gleam in his eyes as he raised his still free hand and said "_Room_." Almost instantly a blue sphere extended from his hand and spread over the both of them.

"You know what the worst part about this is?" He asked. "All those stories about us are nothing but a lie. No matter how many orbs you collect, they will never fulfill any of your stupid wishes. 'They are just harmless children stories'? Don't make me laugh. Those stories destroyed my people and my planet. So many of my friends were killed over some stupid stories that did not even hold any truth to them. Those orbs are nothing but compressed elemental power. A fire orbs lets you create fire, a water orb allows you to create water. There is nothing else to it. They might be useful, but they aren't worth killing people for! There are better technologies holding similar powers out there that do not cost human lives."

Smokers eyes widened in shock, his hand let go of the jitte. "I had no idea..." The realization hit him like a punch in the face. If this was the truth then what had he spent his past few years doing? Hunting a lie?

"Mes."

Smoker felt a sudden punch to his chest.

"Shambles."

And the next thing he knew Law held a glass-like cube in his hand that contained a still-beating heart. Looking down his body he realized that the place where Law had just punched him – the area where his heart was meant to be – had a square shaped hole puncturing it. He fell to his knees almost instantly. Was that his heart in Law's hand? But he did not really feel any pain. And how was he still alive when his heart was missing? Who the hell was this person do have such powers?

His next words came out strained as he spoke them. "I don't get it, who are you? You said you were one of them? But these are not elemental powers."

Law smiled as he examined the heart he held in his hand. "Your stories are wrong in so many ways it's ridiculous how they were ever able to spread like that. You think there are just those for elements and that's it? Think again, because there are two more. My name is Trafalgar Law and I am the Surgeon of Death. I received that name because my element is _death_ itself, giving me powers that allow me to toy with the life of anyone that enters this space of mine."

"Two more...?" Smoker couldn't believe it, all the things he thought he knew were actually wrong? How could anything like that even exist? Death as an element? But if there was death, did that mean there was also...?

"You guess right. There's _life_ as well. But you would have never thought of that, right? One tiny orb was all you needed, the power you were seeking did actually exist, you just did not know of its true form. Bringing someone back from the dead is such a basic wish, but tell me, _Smoker_. How are you the one to decide which of two lives is worth more than the other? Killing one person to save another? Don't be ridiculous. People like you should just all die already!" With those words he squeezed the heart he held in his hand, watching as the man before him collapsed in front of him, clutching his heart-missing chest with his hand.

"I've seen too many of my people die already, so I decided to use my powers to hunt those down that are seeking to kill us for their own selfish wishes. Too bad you had to run into me of all people, huh?" He loosened the grip around the heart a little, after all he did not want the man in front of him to simply die like that. He was supposed to feel at least some pain before he would give him into death's comforting embrace.

"You said you wouldn't have killed that woman, but in the end you would have done it anyway, right, to fulfill your own wish?" He glanced to Smokers ring and remembered the disgusted feeling he had been feeling even the first time he had seen it. "Has your dead wife more of a right to life than anyone else?"

Smoker looked up, there was blood dripping from the corner of his mouth and he still seemed to be in a great amount of pain. "You are wrong." He brought out between clenched teeth. The ring he wore was not a wedding ring. It was a simple golden ring that had the name of someone completely else engraved on its inner side. Something that was supposed to help him to remember her at all times. "This isn't about my wife, I was never married. But there was a woman when I was younger. We were foolish. She got pregnant. But she did not want to keep the baby. I convinced her to give birth to it anyway. And she did. Only it was all too much for her. She..." He coughed up another load of blood before he continued to speak, although more quietly this time. "She suffocated the baby with a pillow and then killed herself. It was already too late when I found them. I just thought... I wanted to give her a chance to at least live. The baby, of course. No the woman."

Law was silent for a moment before finally saying: "That doesn't change a thing." But somehow it did. At least he suddenly felt less rage inside of him. But it did not change that Smoker had been willing to sacrifice other people for his wish.

"Law." Smoker said quietly. "I'm sorry, I didn't know the truth. I foolishly believed in the stories I had heard. But I would never kill someone for my goal. If there is no way to bring her back then I'm going to accept it. I should have accepted it a long time ago already. I was a fool. I'm sorry." He exhaled noisily, speaking this much was painful.

"But Law, if you kill me now, will that really make you feel better? I don't really have any more purpose to live anymore anyway, so if it will make you feel better, then please go ahead and crush my heart right here and now." He waited for a moment, but Law made no move to comply with his request.

"If you are not going to kill me, then let me help you. If it's going to fill my life with a new purpose then I'd gladly fight to protect your people. But I'm not going to kill for your vengeance." He made a small pause before adding. "And you shouldn't either."

"Tz." Law seemed to be taken aback by the sudden suggestion. "Why should I trust you?"

Smoker pointed up to the cube that was still resting in Laws hand. "Keep my heart as a reassurance."

* * *

_4 months later:_

Law had just taken a shower in the hotel room he was staying in. Wrapping a towel around his hips he left the bathroom. His glance almost instantly wandered to the person that was currently sleeping on the only bed in the room.

'_Keep my heart.'_ Smoker had told him and he had done just that. He had been tired of fighting alone. For just this once he had wanted to trust someone. And he had not been wrong with his decision. At least not so far.

He approached the man cautiously. Smoker's chest was rising and falling calmly with every breath he took. And within Law's hand Smokers heart was beating in the same calm rhythm after he had retrieved it from where he kept it. Maybe it was time to fully trust this man? It did not seem fair to keep his heart physically like this anymore. Not after everything that had happened.

He lightly traced his fingertips over the chest of the sleeping man. Then, with a calm movement, he placed the heart in his hands back into the perfectly fitting hole in Smokers chest.

Smoker awoke with a gasping sound, looking at Law in complete confusion. Then, a moment later, his fingers found their way to his chest, where he, for the first time in months, could feel his own heart beating beneath them.

"Why...?" Was all that he was able to say.

Law smiled at him calmly. "By now I already own your heart anyway, don't I?" And with those words he leaned forward and lightly kissed the confused man in front of him on the lips.

Smoker smiled back into the kiss, his hand found its way to the back of Law's head as he pulled him closer to intensify their kiss. And just in between kisses he finally brought out in a low whisper: "You do."

* * *

It was a while later that Law gave Smoker another gift he had been withholding all this time.

The object was small and round. Inside was a clear white smoke that was engulfed by azure blue and yellow flames.

"What is it?" Smoker asked, looking from the object to Law and back to the object in his hands.

"A life orb." Law said quietly.

"A...?" Smoker's eyes widened as he realized what that meant. "Y-you mean you had one all this time?!"

"Yes." Law replied calmly. "You remember the fire orb I've told you about, right? It belonged to a good friend of mine, he was murdered though. We were only able to retrieve the orb of his. His lover... he was someone with a really rare power within him. The power of life itself. But he killed himself, writing a letter that told me to use his orb to bring the other one back." He stopped for a moment, there was grief showing in his eyes.

"But I couldn't. How could I bring him back to a world where his lover was dead? So I didn't use it. Instead I kept the orbs save as they were the only prove of their existence. However... I want you to have it. To bring your daughter back and allow her to live the life you had always imagined for her."

"Law... that's..." Smoker did not know what to say. He had never imagined something like this to happen. When he agreed to help Law he had completely given up on the thought of never seeing her again.

"Is it really okay?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah." The other one replied sadly. Fully well knowing that this would also mean that they would separate. Smoker would bring his daughter back and raise her. There was no place for him in that family.

Suddenly Smoker moved forward and wrapped his arms around the other man. "Thank you...!" He said, his voice full of happiness. "You will love her. She'll be our beautiful daughter. She will finally be able to live happily."

As he let go of Law once more he noticed the shocked and unsure look on the other one's face and quickly apologized. "Ah- I... I'm sorry. Of course you wouldn't want to stay with us I suppose..."

"No." Law quickly interrupted him. He raised his head and smiled happily at the man before him. "I would gladly do that." After all he never wanted to be alone anymore and he knew that like this, he could finally forget his grudge against the universe and be happy.

* * *

That's it! Doesn't that ending scream for some domestic stuff to follow?! Hah, no way. I'm not going to write it. Nope. I'd be more inclined to write Marco and Ace's story. Yes, those fire and life orbs were hinting at them, if you haven't noticed.

I also love the word 'shambles'. Just saying. It sounds so nice, I don't know.

Uhh, I said this before, but feel free to follow me on tumblr for any updates!  
_I'm alenachen on there as well. !  
_I'm sure I'll update something soonish again. Probably with more oneshots or GotP.

I also haven't said thank you for the comments to yesterday's OS, so thank you so much!_e_


	4. A Smile to Brighten the Day (AceSabo)

_Tumblr Drabble Meme – AceSabo – Number 57: Bakery; For Anon  
Modern!AU; Ace &amp; Sabo did not meet as kids  
Word Count: ~1327_

**A Smile to Brighten the Day**

He had stopped going to university – it did not feel compatible with what he wanted to achieve in life. And he had never been someone to do stuff he did not feel like doing. Sure enough, a degree might have given him better job opportunities in the future, but how did that really matter? It didn't. Because that was not what he wanted at all.

Well, his grandfather had always said he was nothing but trouble, but he still never stood in his way. That was the sort of guardian you wanted. Though they were not connected by blood anyway. And his parents had already died a long time ago and he never got to know them.

That is the sort of background that spells out 'troublemaker', right? But he wasn't all that bad. Never had been. Okay, maybe he had been in trouble a lot when he had been younger. But those days were long over. Though people of course still talked when he dropped out of university.

"What's your plan then?" He had been asked. And with a wide grin on his face he had replied "Travel the world, of course!" Of course, like that had been so obvious. People had only shook their head over his enthusiasm. His dreams and wishes were still only those of the child he had once been.

But to travel the world you needed money. Or maybe you didn't need all that much after all. Admittedly, he had never really thought it through.

That was why, in the end, he ended up here. In a small bakery of their town as a temporary help. Just to gain some money. He would surely leave soon enough. Leave this town behind, these people, too. And this stupid working place as well.

He did not enjoy it. Getting up to early, serving people that were just as cranky as he was with a grin on his face – just that they had no obligation to hide their bad mood.

There were exceptions of course. There was this one guy. He never really remembered his customer's faces, but this one was special. The first time he remembered him coming into their bakery he greeted him with a wide grin across his face, which's left side was covered by a rather big scar. It drew in his glance, but the blond customer did not seem to mind at all. Or he was already used to the attention it got.

"You should be smiling." He had said, his voice clear and neither demanding nor sarcastic. It sounded like he was just pointing out the most obvious thing in the world. Then he came closer, leaned a little over the counter and added with a grin "Ace.".

Ace gave him an utterly confused look, before he realized that he was, of course, wearing a name tag.

Somehow he did not feel like arguing or snapping back at the weird customer, so instead he actually did smile. Throughout the whole order, until the weird guy left again with a croissant and a coffee-to-go.

Then his smile vanished and he wondered what the hell that had been all about.

The next day the young man entered the bakery again. Ace noticed as soon as the door opened and his face was almost instantly adorned by an unconscious smile.

When the blond spotted him he looked up and somewhat surprised said: "You don't look so grumpy this time." Then he smiled himself.

It had almost made Ace blush, because he had not realized it himself. But only almost.

The man came every day after that without fail at about the same time and he never failed to talk to Ace, either. And almost unconsciously Ace started to await him. Being slightly uneasy when the young man was late and then, when he entered the bakery, all the tension was taken from him again.

And Ace started to watch him. His big, bright eyes. The way he dressed himself – always very formal and he was always wearing a black coat and black gloves. The man was slightly shorter than himself and their hairstyles were very similar, only that Ace's hair was black and the man had blond hair – that definitely suited him perfectly, Ace thought.

They must have been about the same age, too. And Ace sometimes wondered what he was doing here every morning and where he was going afterwards. But he was probably studying or something, maybe he was some sort of successful, young businessman. Substantially, everything that Ace wasn't.

He must have been frowning that morning, deeply lost in his own thoughts about the whole situation, because when the young blond entered the bakery he walked over to him swiftly and with a short laugh said: "I thought we had agreed that you should smile more."

Ace could only pout at him, but he said nothing. Then, after the man had ordered what he always bought – a croissant and a coffee-to-go – something suddenly drove him to say something after all.

The young man had already turned around when a voice from behind him called him back with a short "Hey.".

He turned back around and looked at Ace with a questioning smile on his face.

Ace faltered for a second, feeling stupid for calling the man back, but then decided that it was already too late for that now and that he could as well ask him now. And so he did. "What's your name?"

"I'm Sabo!" The other one replied as if he had been waiting for that question for a long time and his reaction cast a downright smile on Ace's face.

They talked more every day from that day onwards. Until one day Ace was scolded by one of his superiors for delaying the other customers.

Sabo had apologized for it as if it had solely been his fault and then asked Ace at what time he got off work.

Ace had raised an eyebrow in confusion at the question but he had replied nonetheless. But after Sabo had left, Ace was feeling completely nervous for the whole rest of the day. What was he supposed to do if Sabo actually came later? What was he supposed to say?

His heart was beating rapidly in his chest when he left the bakery that evening. And he was almost feeling dreadful when he could not spot Sabo outside of the shop at first. But then suddenly the blond was standing in front of him with a grin on his face.

And then, before either of them could even say a word, Sabo had suddenly moved forward and – taking Ace's face into his hands for a moment – planted a short kiss on the other's lips, taking Ace completely by surprise.

And then he pulled back again. The smile on his face had not faltered at all as he said: "Sorry, I hope I didn't scare you. I really like you though."

Ace could only gape at the other's spontaneity. But it was that moment – that short kiss – when he realized why he had been feeling better working at that bakery ever since Sabo had entered it for the first time. And he suddenly realized why he had been thinking almost non-stop about the blond and why he had been so nervous this whole day long and why he had felt so frightened when he had thought that Sabo would not come.

Traveling the world in search of adventures? Yeah, maybe that was still what Ace wanted to do someday. But being this rash would not help him. Maybe it was time to realize that and instead conquer the adventure that was unfolding right here and right now.

Namely, a certain blond with an infectious smile right in front of him.


	5. Fun Times and Free Food (AceSabo)

_Tumblr Drabble Meme – AceSabo – Number 90: Restaurant; For lollesblog  
Modern!AU; Ace &amp; Sabo did not meet as kids  
Word Count: ~1541_

**Fun Times and Free Food**

This job as a waiter in that expensive restaurant was just a part time job over the semester break for him. Just something to earn some money for the monthly rent he had to pay. Sabo had never expected anything exciting to arise from it, but he had definitely been wrong with that.

It was on his second day of work when an energetic, young, black-haired man entered the restaurant with a big grin plastered across his face.

"Pops! Where d'you wanna sit?" He asked his companion, a sizeable, older man, excitedly.

For Sabo's taste that customer was way too loud, giving that this was a rather expensive restaurant and everything. But he could only sigh quietly and ignore it for as best as he could.

As Sabo handed them the menu cards he eyed the younger man of the two with an annoyed look on his face.

Then back in the back area of the restaurant Sabo was suddenly pulled to the side by one of his co-workers that had been working here for a while longer than he had.

"See those two?" The man asked, pointing at the two who had just entered the restaurant.

Sabo only shrugged his shoulders, because of course he had, he had just handed them the freaking menu cards after all.

"That younger one." His co-worker continued. "Comes here every week." He said, his voice merely a low and mysterious whisper. "And every week with a different man accompanying him."

Sabo shrugged his shoulders again, watching as the two at their table were talking to each other, not aware that they were being spoken about.

"He called that one his pops though, so it's probably his father?" Sabo tried lamely, not understanding where this conversation was headed.

"Yeah." His co-worker replied. "His 'pops'." He rolled his eyes at Sabo. "And that black-haired one never pays for himself either." He said, as if to give meaning to the unspoken theory he was implying.

Sabo could not deny that he was slightly curious now, but he simply shrugged it off anyway. It was none of his concern after all.

Fueled by his co-workers words he did, however, watch the young, black-haired man intensely all evening long. As if he would be able to decipher if anything strange was going on or not just by observing him.

But nothing special happened for the whole evening and so the black-haired man and the other one left again, leaving Sabo behind slightly disappointed.

...

A week later, as Sabo had already almost forgotten about the incident, he was suddenly ripped out of his thoughts by a familiar, loud and excited voice.

"I'm really hungry!" The same young, black-haired man from a week ago said loudly as he entered the restaurant. This time next to a younger man with brown hair and a pompadour hairstyle that smiled mildly at him.

"Not so loud." He said more quietly to the black-haired one, obviously ashamed of the attention they were getting.

Sabo raised an eyebrow at the sight as the two of them were brought to their table.

His co-worker from last week was quick to throw him a glance that could only mean "told you so." as he went to attend to the new guests.

This time as well Sabo observed the table of those two the whole evening long. But beside the fact that the black-haired man was eating without manners, there was nothing extraordinary about the two of them.

...

Then, exactly a week later, the weird customer appeared again. This time he was followed by a boy – or was it a girl? that was significantly shorter than him. And he, or she, did look a lot younger as well.

"Maybe he doesn't just like old men." Sabo's co-worker suggested.

Sabo had almost laughed at that, but he held himself back. Instead he went to take their orders.

"Can we have wine?" The black-haired man beamed at his waiter with a smile.

Sabo glanced over to the younger one of them, wondering if that person was actually old enough to even be drinking alcohol.

The black-haired man immediately started giggling and, leaning over the table, said to his friend in a low voice. "See, everyone thinks you are a kid."

The one sitting across him simply rolled their eyes at him. "Shut up, Ace."

Ah, Sabo thought to himself. So that was his name. Ace. Or was it? Maybe it was just a nickname or something. Who knew. But this whole situation was definitely getting weirder with every week.

There was a slip of paper held under his nose a second later and on second glance he realized it was the young-looking persons ID. He acknowledged that they were truthfully old enough after all and despite their looks.

"I just want a water thought." They said.

"Certainly." Sabo replied. Glancing over to the one who was apparently Ace, who was still suppressing his laughter.

"Me, too." Ace finally said with a grin.

So they were just trying to make fun of him after all, Sabo wondered to himself, but said nothing.

Later that evening, when the two left the restaurant Sabo could not help himself but follow the one called Ace with his eyes until he disappeared from his sight.

"Who paid?" His co-worker appeared next to Sabo.

"Huh?" Was the only thing the blond replied.

"Who of the two paid?" His co-worker elaborated.

Sabo thought about it for a moment. "The short one." He finally said.

"Maybe that's the son of a rich family, just so happening to like paying for company, because he doesn't have any friends?" Sabo's co-worker suggested.

"Who knows." Sabo replied, thinking that he would actually really like to know what was going on here.

...

The following week, at exactly the same day, the black haired-man called Ace appeared again. This time beside a man who was obviously a few years older than him, with a weird hairstyle that spread from the middle of his head, with a clean shaven back and sides.

That Ace really was a weird one. What exactly was he doing here every week with a different person accompanying him?

Sabo was at their table quickly. Determined to find out more about what was going on this time.

"Would you like to order something to drink?" He asked with a friendly tone.

Ace grinned at him, just like he had the week before. And Sabo was able to see that he had freckles spread across his face that adorned his smile in a beautiful way.

"Marco here..." Ace nodded over to the other man. "Would like some pineapple juice. He's into cannibalism."

Sabo's jaw dropped as he turned his head to look at the one who was apparently called Marco.

"Excuse me?" He asked in his confusion.

"Because of his hair..." Ace tried to elaborate, but his joke was lost on the waiter in his confusion.

Sabo looked back to Ace, deciding that it was best to simply not try and understand whatever had just been said. But something else he could not hold back anymore.

"Are you trying to make fun of me?" He asked, his voice strained. He did not care if he was going to be fired for being unfriendly to a guest, he had simply had enough. He wanted to know what was going on here.

"That's just how he is." The older man, who was called Marco, sighed apologetically. "Sorry about that."

Sabo ignored him, instead eying Ace suspiciously.

"Are these men paying you to come her with you? Must be a really profitable job." The words were over his lips before he could think them through. This had all just been too much for him.

"Wait... what? No?!" Marco said, visibly shocked by this assumption.

Ace, however, simply laughed. "Nah, I just ask them to come here, so they can treat me." He replied with a grin. "Those were all my brothers. Well except for once, where it was my pops, of course."

Sabo could barely believe what the man had just said. His brothers? Really?

"And he's your boyfriend?" He inquired further, nodding to where Marco was sitting.

"No. He's my brother as well." Ace replied, laughing again.

"So would you mind me asking for your number then?" Sabo suddenly blurted out before he knew what he was saying. He had no clue where that one had come from, but as he spoke the words he did not really dislike the idea.

Ace hesitated only for a moment. "I wouldn't mind." He said. "Do you have a pen with you?"

Sabo nodded and handed Ace the pen he had been asking for.

Ace scribbled his cellphone number on his napkin in an almost illegibly handwriting and handed it over to Sabo.

"And who have I just given my number to?" He asked as Sabo accepted the napkin that was handed to him.

"I'm Sabo." The waiter introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, don't forget to call me, Sabo." Ace said with a wink and a grin.


	6. Disconnected (MarcoAce)

_Tumblr Drabble Meme – MarcoAce – Number 49: Assassin/Hitman; For Anon  
Modern!AU_  
Word Count: ~1052__

**Disconnected**

Marco broke into the house with ease. With ease, because this was about the hundreds time he had done it.

If you had the correct information beforehand, it was as easy as opening a jar of jam. A blueprint of the house. Location of every surveillance camera. Memorizing how the alarm system worked. Knowing who was present in the house, so he would not run into anyone he did not want to run into.

He did not hate his job. Mind you, he had chosen it himself, so of course he was fine with it. Killing people was not as bad as it sounded. Well, at least for him it wasn't. Not for the people that were his targets, of course. He had never failed a job and of course he wanted to keep it that way.

Just some corrupt politician here, and some corrupt company bosses there and of course other criminals, as well, all with the thought of saving more lives through his actions that would have died otherwise. Just operating a little manipulation where it was most needed. That was all there was to it.

He had never allowed himself to think too deeply into it. Because thinking too deeply about what he was doing would have had bad consequences, he knew as much. He did not watch the news, or read the paper after doing a job either. Not anymore at least. He had, once, watched an interview with the wife of a man he had murdered. She had been crying and clutching the hand of her small son. And in that moment, even to him, it had seemed unfair that the man had had to die.

He had not worked for a whole month after that. He just couldn't.

But he had come to terms with it and he had been able to suppress his doubts successfully from then on. He had been fine afterwards.

Fine, until this day, in the room that was now only a door away from him, where he would meet his current target.

They had not told him much about his target. A male and supposedly in exactly this room. There would be no one else and he would definitely not leave the room either, so they had said that he did not need any more details about the target.

But when he opened the door, his gun pointed towards the room that lay behind it, instead of shooting at the person he saw almost immediately, he halted.

This... this was his target? In the room before him, right at the window and looking outside of said window, sat a young man with short, raven colored hair. His face was adorned by freckles that very much resembled the look of the star filled firmament from the night sky outside.

"Who are you?!" Marco demanded almost instantly, scolding himself for even talking at all. He was not supposed to ask questions. He was not supposed to know why he had to kill his targets. He was not supposed to feel _pity_ for them. But yet here he was and the fact that the person in front of him was still so young had thrown him completely off track. He was not going to kill someone who was still half a kid for no goddamn reason. How could this young man be any serious threat to anything?!

The raven haired man turned around slowly. "I'm Ace." He replied shortly. He did not seem surprised over Marco's appearance, nor the fact that a gun was being pointed at him.

"Are you going to kill me now?" He simply asked with a toneless voice and a faint smile on his lips.

Like hell Marco was just going to kill that boy. This was completely ridiculous. Instead he went over to where Ace was seated, still directing his gun at him.

He only stopped in his movements when he stood a few steps in front of Ace.

"Why do they want you dead?" Marco asked back. Fucking great. What exactly was he doing here? Sympathizing? He did not need to know any of the facts, he only needed to shoot the boy.

But he didn't shoot him.

Ace shrugged at him. "Probably because my father was some famous criminal. As if I could carry on his business." He chuckled slightly at the thought.

"Then what are you doing here, without guards and everything, if you're that important?" Marco demanded again, his voice strained as he tried to think about what exactly to do.

"I'm kind of forced to stay here. Though they have probably given up about me for a long time now, I'm just that worthless for them after the old man died."

Marco immediately lowered his gun at the words. There was just something, maybe the way the boy smiled while saying such cruel things about himself that gave him the final push to not want to do this.

"Huh?" Ace raised a questioning eyebrow at the blond in front of him. "You aren't going to shoot?"

A sighed escaped the boy's lips. "Well, don't worry. They'll do it soon enough. I'm just in the way anyway and I can't get out of here. Where am I supposed to go anyway? I've barely ever been outside of this house to begin with."

That was when Marco had finally had enough. Screw this job. Screw everything really. He wasn't going to have someone killed for merely _existing_. What sort of crime was that supposed to be? How could he ever justify killing this person or having this person killed?

He slowly extended his free hand to the young man in front of him.

"My name's Marco." He said almost quietly. This sort of job had never been for him anyway.

Ace took the hand he was offered hesitantly, confusion spreading over his face.

"If you are okay with hiding for a while, I can take care of you. I wont let you get killed."

Ace nodded slowly as he stood up with Marco's help, still confused about what was going on. But for the first time in forever he allowed himself to think that maybe, just maybe, it was okay if he lived.


	7. The Haunted House (SaboLaw)

_Tumblr Drabble Meme – SaboLaw – Number 113: Ghost Hunter; For anjelleshadow_

_Word Count: 1013_

**The Haunted House**

Law understood that the old house on the outskirts of their town was famous for being a haunted house, because the place was so run down and eerie that even he would say if there was any place where ghosts could truly appear then it had to be a place like this. Clichés and everything.

He also understood why his best friend's brother, who was only 15 at the time, was fascinated with the idea of exploring the haunted house at night. And he understood why he had been asked to accompany them, because of course someone had to look after the boy. That much was obvious.

But there was one thing he did not understand after all.

"Where's your brother, Sabo?" He groaned. They were standing in front of the house, all ready to get this over with and yet his friend had appeared without the brother with whom they had been supposed to explore the house. There really was no point in being here if he would not come with them. He himself had no intentions of exploring this place, no matter how scary it was supposed to be. He did not believe in ghosts and he had better things to do. Sleeping, for that matter, came almost instantly to his mind.

"Sorry, Law." The blond smiled at him apologetically. "He's been caught by gramps, because he wanted to get some snacks from the kitchen before coming here."

"Okay." Law acknowledged. "So he's not coming?" He inquired. "What are we doing here then? You could have just send me a text message saying we would do this some other day."

Sabo did not reply, but instead looked up to the house in front of them and then back to Law with a frown.

Law could only sigh. "By the way." He continued, his glance shifting to a weird, black object Sabo had been holding in his hand the entire time. "What's that supposed to be?" He asked, pointing at the object in Sabo's hand.

"Oh." The blond looked down to his hand as if he had only just remembered that he had been carrying something around with him all this time. "Uhm, well..." He started, visibly embarrassed. "It's a..." He started again and then, very quickly and flustered, said: "A small vacuum cleaner. It runs on batteries."

Law raised an eyebrow at his friend. "A... vacuum cleaner?" He asked, unsure if he had heard correctly.

"Yes." Sabo replied plain and simple.

"Were we going to clean the house?" Law asked again, still very much confused by what was going on.

"Uh..." Sabo started again. "See, there's this video game my brother plays a lot right now and in that game you sort of have to hunt ghosts... with a vacuum cleaner." He explained, embarrassment making his cheeks burn. "It's really stupid though." He finished mumbling, turning his head away to avoid Law's glance.

"I see." Law said simply. Although he did still not really understand what had made Sabo do something weird like this. He had probably let his brother talk him into it. Just that said brother was not here now. And Sabo looked really stupid standing here in the front yard of some old, abandoned house with a mini vacuum cleaner in his hands.

Stupid, but somehow cute, too. Being all embarrassed and not even looking him in the eye over something like this.

"So you were going to be real ghost hunters? You know, one would think your brother's a little old for this sort of stuff. But knowing him I suppose he would be really fascinated by it all."

He went over to the blond and reaching out with his hand, he brushed against Sabo's fingers for a second before taking the vacuum cleaner out of his friend's hand.

He gave the object that he was now holding a skeptical look. "I guess you could have sucked in a ghost with this." He paused momentarily and then added with a grin. "Only a really small one though."

Sabo finally looked up to him and punched lightly with his fist against Law's chest. "Oh, shut up, you." He said sulkily. "I was just trying to make him happy."

"Yeah." Law agreed. "I think that was really nice of you." He sighed again then. "Now, are we going home? Or would you like to go explore the house after all?"

Sabo cast his glance down again. "You know, we are already here after all..."

Law raised an eyebrow at his friend, but instead of teasing him again, he simply agreed. "Alright. If that's what you want."

Sabo nodded slightly and with a smile.

They went inside the house then. It was really dark inside, though the moon was providing at least a little light. Law wondered how Sabo could think about bringing a vacuum cleaner with him, but forget to bring a flashlight. But then again, he really did not care, at least they were not in complete darkness.

The floor was creaking beneath their feet as they moved forward and the few objects that were still scattered around in the room they were in did look rather eerie in the darkness, casting spooky shadows against the wall wherever the light of the moon could reach.

But of course Law was not scared of something like this and he was still trying to figure out the point of even going inside this house in the first place, when a sudden, loud noise from the floor above them made Sabo, who was walking behind him, jump and reach out for his hand.

He turned around and grinned at the blond. Carefully closing his fingers around his friend's hand he said "Don't worry, I'll protect you." He demonstratively lifted the vacuum cleaner in his other hand up as if to reassure Sabo. "I have a weapon after all."

Right, this was not so bad after all, he thought as he lightly squeezed his friend's hand.


	8. His Own Idea of Justice (RebeccaAkainu)

_Tumblr Drabble Meme – RebeccaAkainu – Number 102: Double Life; For anjelleshadow  
Modern!AU  
Word Count: ~573_

**His Own Idea of Justice**

"W-What do you mean by that?" She was stuttering and her mouth had gone dry as she looked up to the officer in front of her.

"I don't understand…" She muttered again, looking down for a moment, eyes opened wide in disbelief.

"I am very sorry, Rebecca." The man coughed slightly, he was evidently uncomfortable in the situation he was in. "We were shocked, as well." He looked at her apologetically.

He could not believe, that she, being so young and beautiful, was married to that old man. How she could even love him, was beyond him. She looked so innocent, so sweet. If anything, she of all people did really not deserve this.

"Can I talk to him?" She asked, her voice trembling at the words. "Surely, there must be a mistake. Sakazuki would never do something like that. He is always talking about how justice is the most important thing in the world. And he's very gently and loving towards me. I can't believe he would kill someone." She swallowed. Her eyes filled with tears. "He's not like that." She stressed once more, her voice stern.

"The evidence is crushing." The police officer said. "I believe you are right, he has always loved his justice. But maybe…" He stopped for a second, but then continued. "Maybe he has loved it too much. At some point he must have stopped believing that the system delivered the kind of justice he believed in. And he started to act on his own sense of justice. I'm very sorry, Rebecca." Akainu had been his superior. He had looked up to him ever since he had joined the police. He had talked to his wife, Rebecca, before and that is why it had fallen onto him to tell her about what had happened.

At least Rebecca was still young, she would get over this, the police officer thought. She would find someone else to love and marry. Someone like Akainu had never been a good match for her anyway, everyone had agreed on that.

She covered her eyes with her hands, tears rolling over her cheeks. "H-how many?" She asked between sobs. She could not believe this was true. Her Sakazuki killing people? Murdering them? He had always been so brave. He had always told her that he would cleans the world of all of its criminals and make it a better place for her to live in. But not like this. Not by becoming a criminal himself.

"He has already admitted to six." The officer said, withholding that there were probably more cases. He could not believe that the man he had looked up to so much was nothing more than a mass murderer in the end.

"Can I please go talk to him?" Rebecca requested again. She would not believe this, not until she heard it from Sakazuki himself. She wanted to know his reasons for all of this. She wanted to understand why he did what he had done, although he had promised to stay by her side forever.

"In due time, we might be able to arrange something." The officer offered, although he thought that it would probably be better if Rebecca never talked to her husband again. She was too pure and sweet to be confronted with a monster like him any longer.


End file.
